Back From the Dead Chapter 6: Together, We Can Breathe, an agents of s.h.i.e.l.d. fanfic

Back From the Dead

Disclaimer:
As always, I own nothing.

Rating:
T

Genre:
Romance/Hurt/Comfort

Pairing:
Coulsye

Lyrics Used:
Jessie J "Breathe"

Together, We Can Breathe

"This is wrong!" Skye could hear a male voice screaming, though, it sounded as though it was far off in the distance. Her mind was so clouded with pain she couldn't think. All she could register was the feeling of millions of needles poking around her brain, slicing, carving, shaping.

God, I just wanna die... Skye thought to herself as pained tears streamed freely down her face. The pain was so ungodly, all Skye could do was to pray for the blackness to take hold, once again and swallow her whole once more. Just let me die, please. For the love of GOD, just let me die!

"The hell with Fury!" There was the male voice again. "Throw my ass under the bus, I don't give a good God-damn!" He screamed. "Just-for the love of all that's good and holy-listen to her!" He screamed. That was when it struck Skye that she'd spoken her private thoughts aloud.

Unable to stand it any longer, she began desperately crying for help. "COULSON!" She screamed, calling out for the one person she knew would always be there for her when she needed him. "COULSON! HELP ME! HELP ME, PLEASE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

After tossing and turning for hours in his bed, Phil Coulson threw the blankets off of himself as he finally gave up on the notion of sleep altogether. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he rose to his feet as he crossed the bunk to wrap his black cotton robe around himself as he began to make his way down to the bar. However, the moment he opened the door. The senior agent took off at a dead run, taking the stairs two at a time, when he heard the hacktivist screaming out for him.

"Agent Coulson-" Jemma Simmons began, hesitantly, as their fearless leader nearly bowled her over in his frantic attempt to get to Skye. The concern written in his baby blue eyes nearly took her breath away as he finally reached the hacktivist's door, throwing it open as the rest of the team watched the exchange from a distance.

Entering the bunk, Phil threw caution to the wind as he laid himself down next to her, holding her body against his to halt the thrashing as he stroked her hair in an attempt to calm her and bring her back to reality. "Come back, come back, come back…" He whispered, quietly, keeping his voice calm and reassuring. "You're okay. You're safe. I've got you…"

Watching the senior agent cradling the hacktivist in his arms, the rest of the team felt their hearts breaking in their chests. "We shouldn't be here…" Melinda May observed, quietly. The rest of the team knew she was right. This was a private moment meant to be shared by only the two of them. Silently agreeing with their stoic pilot, they all dispersed, back to their bunks.

"Shh-shh…" Phil cooed, as the hacktivist's tremors slowed to a stop. "That's it...Just relax…" He whispered as Skye's body finally relaxed into him as he continued stroking her hair. After another couple of moments, the senior agent watched as her beautiful doe eyes flew open, scanning the room, wildly. "It's okay…" He reiterated, gently.

Wrenching herself out of Phil's arms, Skye sat bolt upright in her bed, catching her breath. "What just happened?" She asked, more to herself, as she tried to process the situation. Turning to Phil as he sat up next to her. "What are you doing here? In my bed?" She asked, her eyes still wild with panic.

"You had a nightmare." Phil replied, gently. "You were screaming for me. I came to calm you down." He explained, keeping his voice at the same soft, warm, tone.

"I-I'm sorry…" Skye muttered, shakily, as she struggled to bring her heart rate back to a normal rhythm. "I-I didn't mean to wake you…I shouldn't-"

"Hey…" Phil interjected, gently. "Never apologize for having a natural response to a traumatic event." He added, tenderly, wrapping her back in his arms, cradling her head against his chest.

Clinging desperately to Phil's chest, Skye replied, softly "Thanks..." Pulling away, slightly, she looked up into his eyes as she added "For everything..." Laughing at herself and her over-reaction to her nightmare, she looked down at her hands as she apologized "I'm still sorry, by the way..." She mumbled, self-consciously. "Ya know...for waking you."

Smirking, slightly, Phil replied "I wouldn't feel too bad about that, if I were you..." Taking her confused expression as a cue to elaborate, the senior agent replied "You didn't actually wake me...I was already awake. Couldn't sleep. I was on my way down to the bar for a drink when I heard you screaming." He added, smiling warmly.

"Oh..." Skye replied, nodding. "Well, then...I'm glad I didn't wake you..." She muttered, semi-awkwardly.

After a brief silence stretched over them-during which, Skye had allowed herself to relax back into Phil's welcoming arms while he gently lay back down with her head on his chest while wrapping his arms around her, absently stroking her hair while holding her protectively-Phil finally spoke. "You wanna talk about it?" He asked, carefully.

Skye, for her part, remained silent for a moment as she considered her answer to his question. She did want to talk about it. The only problem was that she didn't really know what she would be talking about. This had been the worst in a series of bizarre dreams that she'd been having ever since she'd returned home from Hawaii. The rest had all just been...confusing. This one terrified her. Finally nodding against her protector's chest, the hacktivist took a deep breath as she attempted to break down her nightmare for Phil. "It all started with me, laying face down on a massage table on the beach. This handsome guy was massaging my neck and back-occasionally asking me if I felt this or that..." Phil had to bite his tongue as he noticed the similarities in the nightmare that Skye was describing to his own nightmares of Tahiti. "It felt so good, I was actually starting to fall asleep on the table. I guess I must have fallen asleep, because I heard a woman asking if she should wake me up." Skye added, recalling as many details of her nightmare as she could. "That was when everything changed. Suddenly, everything was dark-I couldn't see anything. But, I heard a guy screaming 'This is wrong'...But, his voice sounded like he was far off in the distance-my mind was so clouded with pain..." The hacktivist recalled, shuddering slightly at the memory. "I guess I must have been screaming in the dream 'cause I heard the same guy shouting 'This is wrong. The hell with Fury. Throw my ass under the bus, I don't give a good God-damn. Just-for the love of all that's good and holy-listen to her.'..."

That was when Phil became even more certain he knew exactly what had been done to his beloved hacker. That bastard's in for a world of hurt when I get my hands on him...Phil thought to himself, already thinking of all the things he wanted to say to his boss the next time he saw him. At a loss for what to say to the frightened woman in his arms, all he could think to do was tighten his arms around her, hoping to make her feel safe and protected. "I'm so sorry, Skye..." He muttered, more for his benefit than for hers.

Curious, Skye shifted in Phil's arms to look him in the eye. "Sorry for what?" She asked, softly.

Coulson considered, for a moment, telling Skye the truth behind his resurrection. Another story for another time, Coulson...He told himself. "It's not important." He replied, dismissively. "You should try to get some sleep." He added, hoping to distract her from pressing the matter any further.

Gazing into the piercing blue eyes she'd grown to love so dearly, Skye knew there was something he wasn't telling her. But, he was right. She was dead tired and sleep sounded divine, at the moment. "You should, too." She replied, cheekily. But, she couldn't shake her nightmares and figured sleep would not come easy for either of them. "Will you stay with me?" She asked, a little more helplessly than she had intended to.

Grateful for the change of subject, Phil didn't even care how it looked for him to share a bed with one of his operatives. He could tell Skye needed him and he'd already failed her, once-and lost her as a result of that failure. He'd be damned if he'd fail her again. "Of course, I will." He swore, gently, smiling ever-so-softly as the hacker settled back into his arms with a contented smile on her face.

Watching the young woman in his arms slowly drifting back off to sleep, Phil made a mental note to speak with Fury about what he'd done to Skye. But, first, he knew it was time for him to face the music and read the rest of his team in on what he'd learned about the truth of his resurrection. And, about Skye's return as well. But, before he could do any of that, he knew he needed to speak with the hacktivist, alone, first. That was not a conversation he looked forward to having. But, it can wait 'till morning...He decided, as he took in the sight of the contented smile on Skye's face. He liked to think that he'd had something to do with that. Something about the feeling of having Skye in his arms brought a sense of peace to the agent that he hadn't felt in far too long as he drifted off to sleep with the same contented smile upon his own face.

Author's Note:
So, I decided to end this chapter, here, because...well, it just felt like a good place. Next chapter, Skye learns the truth about Coulson's resurrection and-subsequently-her own. And, yes, the physical scenes have begun! I didn't wanna jump in, head first. I wanted to ease them into it. I don't want their connection, in this story, to be purely sexual. I want there to be an actual, committed relationship as well. So, I'm building it, slowly. Besides, I figured that...as damaged as Skye and Coulson both are, I feel that they would both be cautious to jump into a relationship after everything that's happened. So, that's how I'm playing this. Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed it! Don't forget to drop a review! :D

~Skye Coulson